NUM376 See [[EXOD227]] Exodus 15:22 caused AMEMEI 187-8

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NUM384 Like an advertiser of any product who is worried that his or her product be perceived properly and not seen in a bad light, Judaism is careful that its product, that is, Judaism itself, is understood properly and not seen in a bad light.  Therefore, when a Jewish action is correct but the perception is negative, Judaism says the action should not be done, even though it is not wrong.  The classic example of this is the concept of marit ayin, in which a Jew may not do anything that is perceived as improper even though it is perfectly permissible (Shabbat 146b). Thus, an observant Jew should not enter a nonkosher restaurant merely to make a phone call because it may be perceived by others that this observant Jew is eating in this nonkosher establishment.  This very idea saved the entire Jewish people from destruction.  After the Jews made the Golden Calf, God wanted to destroy the Jewish people for their sin.  In order to save them, Moses argued that if the Jews were to be destroyed, the Egyptians would say that God destroyed the Jews because He was too weak to bring them in to the Promised Land, not because they had sinned.  Even though God was certainly strong enough and the Egyptian argument was factually false, God still did not destroy the Jews to avoid this possible misconception.  In a similar sense, a Jew must act in a manner that will be perceived as proper not only in the eyes of God but also in the eyes of his or her fellow Jew. The entire concepts of Kiddush Hashem and Chillul Hashem, sanctifying and desecrating God's name, are based on this idea of how people will perceive God.  If God’s perception is diminished because of a Jew’s actions, it is a sin.  If the perception of God is enhanced because of a Jew’s actions, it is a big mitzvah [Maimonides, Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah 5:1-2]

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NUM393 See [[NUM3]] Numbers 1:2 clans AMEMEI 70

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NUM398 A healthy ecological balance dictates that there must remain distance between city and rural areas. Thus, the Torah [this verse] does not permit any planting or building in the one-thousand-cubit radius around the city. Rashi on this verse, based on the Talmud (Bava Batra 24b) comments that the purpose is also to protect the beauty of the city. Thus, the Torah was concerned about zoning and city beautification. The Mishnah (Bava Batra 2:7) states that even a tree had to be a distance of at least 25 cubits (37 – 50 feet) from the city, and some say fifty cubits, in order to allow proper growing of trees and prevent possible damage.

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NUM403 While the Torah (Leviticus 19:16) commands each Jew not to stand idly by when a person's life is threatened, the Talmud (Sanhedrin 73a), in defining various situations when this mitzvah applies, does not seem to differentiate between saving the life of a sinner or a non-sinner. In fact, it seems from the Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a) that each person, tall or short, deformed or normal, sinner or non-sinner, has a life whose value is infinite, equal to the value of the entire world. The only time a person loses his value of life is after the court has pronounced the sentence of death (Maimonides, Hilchot Rotze'ach 1:5), based on [this verse]. Prior to that, this person, even if a murderer who deserves to die, is treated like anyone else, and one may not kill him or her.

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DEUT20 [In allocating scare resources] … [i]f every other factor is equal, then the first person arriving or asking for the resource should be given first consideration. This can be demonstrated from a number of Jewish sources. When the Torah [this] verse tells us that in Judaism, all small and large court cases must be heard equally (there is, therefore, no Jewish concept of small-claims court and grand larceny), the Talmud (Sanhedrin 8a) explains that since favoritism is obviously not permitted, the verse is teaching us that cases must be heard in chronological order, that is, the order in which they originally come to the court, no matter what the size of the case. Therefore, the first case presented to the judges must be heard first. The Mishnah (Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:2) describes how Jews are judged by God on Rosh Hashanah: as sheep pass by the shepherd one at a time, so, too, each Jew passes by God and is judged individually. The order of judging, therefore, like the sheep, is that whoever came first, is judged first. This concept has been codified (Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 15:1) and states that except for the scholar (due to his honor), all cases must be judged in order of appearance.

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DEUT21 See [[LEV344]] Leviticus 19:11 steal AMEMEI 32

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DEUT89 Are there any reasons in Jewish law not to take drugs? The main reason why drugs would be immoral and against Jewish law is that for reasons of health. There have been many studies done showing the negative effects of drugs. It is true that each drug has a slightly different effect and that none of the results are agreed-upon by everyone. Yet, there is strong consensus that regular drug use causes damage to one's body, whether it be to the brain, liver, or to the entire system. In Judaism, doing damage to one's body clearly violates many precepts. One Torah [this] verse states that a person should watch and guard himself. A second instance just six verses later[Deuteronomy 4:15] says virtually the same thing, but the word me'od, meaning "very much so," is added. One therefore must protect one's body from harm "very much." Why is this so? Can't a person claim it's his or her life and his or her body and if the person wishes to ruin it, that is a personal choice? Judaism disagrees with this view. While we may use our bodies as can anyone who borrows an item from a friend, our body does not belong to us. It belongs to God, who "lends" it to us (Maimonides, Hilchot Roze'ach 1:4). And like a borrowed item that must be properly watched even as it is allowed to be used and then returned intact, we have an obligation to watch our bodies and return them as intact as possible to God when we die. Therefore, we may not do anything that brings harm to our body. That is also why suicide is illegal in Jewish law--it is not our body to do with as we wish. This is not just a philosophic idea. Maimonides (Maimonides, Hilchot Roze'ach 11:5) specifically rules that a person who has this attitude, that is," I do not care what people say, I can do what I want to my body," is punished. Therefore, taking drugs, which does harm to the body, would not be permitted. Rabbi Akiva (Bava Kamma 90b) in an earlier century ruled that a person may not intentionally cause damage to his or her body.

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DEUT90 Based on two [this and Deuteronomy 4:15] verses, a Jew is not allowed to put himself or others in any form of danger and must prevent a possible precarious situation from occurring. Therefore, if it could be conclusively proven that [taking an action] would place people in mortal danger, it would not be permitted...

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DEUT91 See [[LEV479]] Leviticus 19:16 idly AMEMEI 259

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